January 27, 2013

Congratulations to Deborah W. Sandford of Georgia State University, 1st place winner of the 2013 Jean Tague Sutcliffe Doctoral Student Research Poster Competition. Deborah’s poster was entitled, “Construction of Professional Identity Among Novice Library Media Specialists.”

2nd place winner: Clayton A. Copeland of University of South Carolina. Clayton’s poster was entitled, “Equity of Access to Information: A Comparative Exploration of Library Accessibility and Information Access from Differently-able Patrons’ Perspectives.”

3rd place winner: Amy Phillips of Dominican University. Amy’s poster was entitled, “Framing the Public Library: The Public Perception of the Public Library in the Media.”

January 4, 2013

The Multicultural, Ethnic and Humanistic Concerns (MEHC) Special Interest Group cordially invites you to attend:

“Where Do We Go From Here?: Exploring Perceptions of Community-Based Research as ‘Serious Research’ in LIS Education” is scheduled for Thursday, January 24, 2013 from 8:30 a.m.- 10:00 a.m.
Room TBA

Syracuse University is driven by its vision Scholarship in Action- a commitment to forging sustained, reciprocal, and sustained engagements with many community constituents. In recent years, Syracuse University School Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s vision- Scholarship in Action- has been scrutinized both by some faculty and students. Opponents of Scholarship in Action argue that research rooted in community engagement isn’t ‘serious research’ and ultimately decreases the competitive edge of the university.

On the other hand, proponents of Scholarship in Action describe it as a strategic framework for promoting public scholarship that embeds diversity and all of its benefits in both a community and university creating an environment of mutual learning and empowerment. Additionally, proponents argue that Cantor’s initiative disrupts the traditional approach to academic research and creates a more inclusive academic environment.

Our esteemed panel of LIS scholars will focus on how both Library and Information Science faculty research AND community engagement benefit the university, the library school, and the community. The panel will also focus on how traditional research models challenge perceptions of research and create an exclusive academic environment.

Panelists include: Dr. Tonyia Tidline, Dominican University; Beth Patin, PhD Candidate at the University of Washington, and Delicia T. Greene, PhD Candidate at Syracuse University. The session will be moderated by Dr. Nicole A. Cooke, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

**The MEHC SIG will also be conducting its annual business meeting that same morning at 7:30am. Please join us and learn how to become involved with this dynamic committee!**